Throughout the world, dogs are kept as pets; and on farms and ranches, dogs are frequently trained for performing a variety of useful work tasks. In addition, sportsmen, particularly bird hunters, long have trained dogs to assist them in hunting by locating and retrieving game. In addition, it is becoming increasingly popular to breed dogs for competition in dog shows, where the conformation and other characteristics of the dogs are judged according to pre-established standards.
Most dogs are very active animals. To maintain them in their peak physical condition, most require a great deal of exercise. Unfortunately, with increasing numbers of dogs being kept in homes or apartments in cities, the necessary exercise to keep a dog in such peak physical condition becomes increasingly difficult to obtain. Most city dwellers do not have room to allow their dogs to roam over a wide territory. In fact, in most cities, "leash laws" and other legal limitations severely restrict the movement and freedom which dogs have. The result of this is that many dogs presently kept as pets today, and trained for exhibit in dog shows or for use as hunting dogs and the like, are in poor physical condition. This frequently results in two extreme types of conduct on the part of the dog. Some dogs become very hyperactive and it is nearly impossible to keep them in the confined environment to which they are subjected. As a result, they are difficult to train and discipline. Other dogs react to reduced exercise restrictions in an opposite manner and become very lethargic or lazy and tired. Both of these conditions are abnormal and undesirable.
For show dogs, the lack of exercise generally is manifested in poor physical conformation with the resultant poor placements in dog shows in which such dogs are entered. Consequently, it is desirable to find some way to avoid the results of insufficient exercise.
With the increased popularity of horseback-riding and the breeding and raising of horses for competition in horse shows, a similar situation also arises with respect to horses. Many horse owners keep horses in locations which make it impossible to properly exercise the horse. It is well-known that a horse requires a relatively large area in which to run if the animal is to be maintained in peak physical condition. Unfortunately, many horses are kept on relatively small pieces of property in or near large cities, which precludes them from obtaining the necessary normal exercise which they would obtain if raised in locations where they have a relatively large area in which to roam or to be ridden.
It also has been found in the training of both dogs and horses that it sometimes is necessary to employ some type of restraining device in order to facilitate and implement the desired training. To this end, a variety of training or restraining devices have been developed in the past. In the case of horses which are subject to kicking (particularly with their rear legs), and with respect to hyperactive dogs or dogs which jump over fences used to confine them, a variety of restraining devices have been developed in the past.
One such dog-restraining harness for the purpose of absolutely limiting the rearward movement of the dog's legs relative to the rest of its body (to keep it from jumping out of an enclosure) is disclosed in the patent of Flynt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,264. The restraining harness disclosed in this patent includes loops which extend from the collar around the dog's neck under its chest to the back legs. The harness is inextendable and absolutely limits the rearward movements of the dog's legs to prevent it from jumping. Another dog harness employing a similar principle (but for both the front and back legs) is disclosed in the patent to Moyle, U.S. Pat. No. 2,534,727. Once again, inextendable straps are connected to a harness and around all four legs of the dog to limit the movement of the dog's legs. This is for the purpose of fettering the dog to keep it from running fast or to prevent it from jumping over fences and the like. Since the devices of both of these patents restrain normal movement of the dogs, they are not helpful in exercising the dog to build muscle tone or strength, and in addition, are uncomfortable to the dog. While they may serve the limited purpose of a very narrow specific training function (that is, preventing jumping), they are of no overall general value in the exercising and developing of the dogs on which they are used.
Training harnesses or movement-restricting harnesses of the general type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,264 Flynt also have been developed for use in training or restraining horses. Six patents which disclose somewhat similar devices for this purpose are the patents to Forsyte, U.S. Pat. No. 730,360; Weathers U.S. Pat. No. 580,965; Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 216,705; Moose, U.S. Pat. No. 369,294; Fales, U.S. Pat. No. 382,869; and Whitten, U.S. Pat. 389,683. All of these patents are similar. All of them use an inextendable restraining rope or strap extending from the hock on one hind leg through a ring or pulley to the hock on the other hind leg of the horse. The ring or pulley is connected to a harness over the middle of the horse (similar to a girth), or to a collar around the neck of the horse.
The devices are used to prevent the horses from kicking to the rear or to prevent unwanted movement of the legs of the horse. None of these devices, however, are effective for building muscle tone or for exercising the horse on which they are used.
It is desirable to provide an exercising harness for animals, such as dogs and horses, which may be comfortably worn by the animal and which is capable of exercising the animal to build muscle tone in confined spaces or in relatively short periods of time. Such a device also must be such that it is easy to install, simple in construction, not harmful to the dog or horse in any way, and it must permit normal let and body movements of the animal being exercised.